His faults do not interfere with his greatness

1 # Mandela's background

Mandela's family background has a lot to do with where he is today. Mandela's family was a member of South Africa's Thimbu dynasty, a tribal dynasty, and his great-grandfather Nubankuka was once king of Thimbu. Although Mandela was born in the family, he was also considered a "second generation official". This family background gave him more educational opportunities, the opportunity to receive higher education and see the outside world. Every "reformer" basically has a link to absorb ideas from the external environment, Mandela became a "reformer", cannot be seen in isolation from his family background.

The fact that the Mandela family is now the "first family" of South Africa is no doubt due to the current state of corruption in South African politics. But once a country's political system becomes a one-party state, corruption is no one's fault, and as an outsider it is hard to say whether Mandela directed it. It is too early to say whether the African National Congress (ANC), which has dominated South Africa's politics, has contributed to the country's democratic progress. Reform is still under way. But the problem of one-party dominance and corruption is one that South African politics must tackle quickly.

Moreover, South Africa's multi-party system is still in its infancy, and centuries of racial discrimination have made the gap between different races particularly deep. South African politics has always been a white man's game. The apartheid-era ruling Party, the National Party, has been renamed the New National Party (NMT).

The political importance of opposition parties has been gradually emphasized in South Africa. Good government management requires a strong opposition party, so as to effectively supervise the rule of the majority party. It is true that the status quo has something to do with Mandela, but it is inappropriate to blame him.

2 # Racial equality in law is not equal to racial equality in concept

South Africa is a country with a history of racism, which is not just the conflict between the colored people and the white people, but between all ethnic groups. In a country of 51.77 million people, 79.6% of whom are black, it is easy to understand the ANC's political victory as a political group representing black interests. Since the rules dictate "majority rule," follow the rules.

Although racial discrimination laws were abolished after the founding of the new South Africa, the after-effects of nearly 100 years of apartheid could not be eliminated in a short time. This is also the path of all countries facing racial problems, and it is the same in the Western world. The best example of this is that people of different races still identify with their ethnic differences and only want to associate with their own people. This is true even of party activities. The ANC's membership is overwhelmingly black (and blacks are conflicted), the Inkatha Freedom Party is Zulu, the NNP and the Democrats are white.

There are many reasons why South Africa's current "reverse discrimination" is an indelible part of human nature, but this does not mean that Mandela's ideal of "racial equality" is wrong. It can only be said that the concept of "racial equality" put forward by Mandela has not been realized at present, and South Africa is still a country with serious racial problems.

But equality under the law is at least a first step towards reform. Such progress is the basis for the future of "conceptual equality". Although there are a lot of execution issues, I think this step is the right one in the general direction. South Africa's political and economic problems will be resolved sooner or later, but the starting point for these outcomes is the recognition of "de jure racial equality".

Speaking of economic retrogression, South Africa's economic retrogression is mainly due to the "exodus of whites", while the exodus of whites, the mainstay of the social economy, is ultimately due to the poor solution of the racial issue. But the solution to this racial problem will take time and cannot be achieved overnight. Lincoln needed patience in the civil war. South Africa needs patience now.

But in any case, this direction of "racial equality" should not and cannot be abandoned.

3 # Personal evaluation

Mandela was a totemic figure, like King, with extraordinary personal charisma and strong political ideals. As a politician, you can't do without ideals, but ideals alone are not enough. He is a good leader, but not a good one.

Mandela, the "father of the nation" and "saint" of South Africa, did not covet the presidency. He had to do it once, which is a sign, but he also wisely did not get a second term. Since 1999, South Africa has entered the "post-Mandela era", and many major countries around the world have gone through similar periods. After the abdication of South Korea's Park Chung-hee, Chile's Pinochet and Indonesia's Suharto, the country went through its own transition, which may even lead to civil war, which is the liquidation process of the negative historical assets of these strongmen. The same is true of Nelson Mandela. Reverse discrimination is one of them. No one is perfect, and we have no reason to expect Nelson Mandela to be.

There is still a long way to go before there is real racial reconciliation. But in the social life of a state, if the policy is wrong, however good the means may be, the result will be wrong. Mandela's contribution was to set the right vision for the future of South Africa, to point in a clear direction, and to gain broad political approval. The hope is that, despite all the problems now facing South African politics, the situation will improve after the "buffer period".

In international politics, despite the harsh reality, we still have no reason to abandon the beautiful things such as "equality", "freedom" and "peace". We are honoring Mandela to honor his spirit, not to comment on the merits of his agenda. It is too early to judge a new and unstable country that is only 20 years old. Whether the general social problems of black governance, including the current situation in Africa, will improve in the future, I do not know, can only wait and see.

If you want the happiness of civilization, you have to go through the pain of civilization, which is for the happiness of the future. There were times when I thought racism was an unsolvable problem, but when I saw how many people were working on it, I put that idea to rest.

Thanks to Nelson Mandela, many good things have been left to human society. Now it's really time for the bell to ring the signal of homecoming. Time turns possession into loss. The singer who wrote this song is no longer in the world. The slogan "May the land be as high as you and ME" was accepted by more people, even by some vested interests, after he fought for it. It's the kind of people who make the cold rules of the world shine with humanity. It reminds us that there is a softer side to the world than a hard one.

To be human is to pursue something, to yearn for something better, even at the expense of their own interests. The legacy of Mandela's life is for posterity to judge. But ask yourself, what Mandela did in his life, his steadfast pursuit of ideals, who can do that? Mandela's greatness lies in the fact that he was a determined fighter and always believed he could change the future. In him the power of humanity surpasses all others. His pursuit, also obtained the universal recognition of human society.

It is the existence of such people that makes the world worthy of our nostalgia and tears. Those history, is worthy of us to move, to commemorate. He makes us believe that the logic of the world is not as cold as it seems, and that the pursuit of humanity may indeed change things.

He was right and he was wrong, but that didn't stop him from being great. Everyone gets different things from his life.